Plow-gage



(No Model.)

J. B. LAW.

-PLOW GAGE; No.315,799. Patented Apr. 14, 1885.

WITNESSES INVENTOR I Mm 73, 75 M ATTORNEYS.

NITED STATES PATnNr Qrrimr/O JAMES BRADLEY LAW, OF DARLINGTON, SOUTHCAROLINA.

PLOW- GAGE.

SPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 315,799, dated April14, 1885.

Application filed August 9, 1884.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Janus B. Law, a citizen of the United States,residing at Darlington, in the county of Darlington and State of SouthCarolina, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in PlowGages and Guides, of which the following is a description.

The object of this invention is to provide a gage whereby the depth ofplowing may be regulated and a guide whereby the slant or pitch of theplowshare may be directed to raise or throw the earth more or less fromthe furrow.

To this end my invention consists in the construction and combination ofparts forming a plow gage and guide, hereinafter described and claimed,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 isa perspective view of a plow, showing the principal form of myinvention, and Figs. 2- and 3 show modifications of the same.

A represents the beam of the plow.

B is the post secured to the rear end of the beam to support theplowshare O and the handles. (Not shown.)

D is the shoe of my gage and guide. This shoe is intended to run on theground at the bottom of the furrow.

E is the shank by which the shoe is secured to the plow. flhis shank hasa straight parallelsided body to fit against the post of the plow, andit is slotted to receive a bolt, F, which may be the bolt holding theplowshare to the post. By means of this slot the gage may be raised orlowered, so as to permit the plow to run shallower or deeper into theground. Iprefer joining the shoe with its shank as follows: The lowerend of the shank is formed into the are of a circle, extending downwardand backward enough to become tangent to a horizontal line and turn up alittle at the rear, as shown in Fig. 1. The forward end of the shoe issimilarly curved to fit outside of and below the curved end of theshank, to which it is adjustably secured by means of a bolt, G, passingthrough a slot in the shoe and through a hole in the shank. By thismeans the shoe may be raised or lowcred at its rear end, as shown indotted lines, while the forward end remains fixed, thus giving the plowany desired pitch.

In the modification shown in Fig. 2 the (No model.)

shank and shoe are in one piece, which may be raised or lowered, as inFig. 1; but in order to fix the pitch as desired the angle of juncturemust be changed by bending the iron.

The modification shown in Fig. 8 is an equivalent of the joint shown inFig. 1. The two parts are joined by a hinge, H, which keeps them in thesame angular relation to each other, as shown in Fig. 1. To this isadded a bracing device consisting of the slotted are I, adapted to swingtangent to the arni J of the shank at that point thereof in which abelt, K, is fixed to engage the slot in the are I to hold it at anypoint desired.

I am aware that a gage and guide similar to mine has been patented to m.H. Ammons, No. 291,662; but his shoe is provided with a curved joint,which is nearly parallel with the plow-post, so that in changing thepitch of the shoe the forward end thereof is raised or lowered, so thatthe depth of plowing is also changed. This involves a considenableexperimenting on the part of the operator to get the plow set again atthe same depth as before, for both his shoe and wedge must be adjustedfor every change that is made, whereas my shoe may be set at the desiredpitch without altering the shank; or the height of the device may be atany time changed by means of the shank withoutaltering the pitch of theshoe.

The curve of my joint is tangent to or nearly parallel with the ground,while the curve of his joint could not be extended to become in anyrespect parallel with the ground without so changing the principle ofhis device as to involve my improvement.

My joint is practically a hinge at the lower end of the shank andforward end of the shoe.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The combination, in a plow gage and guide, of the two sections D and Eand the hinge H and bolt K, joining them, the section D being slottedfor the passage of the bolt K, and the section E being slotted forattachment to and Vertical adjustment upon a plow-standard, B,substantially as shown and described.

J AMES BRADLEY LAW.

Witnesses:

J. S. GAMER, J. W Evans.

